EL Congress ratifies the accession of eight new parties

EL Congress ratifies the accession of eight new parties

20 December 2016

The Party of the European Left (EL) initiates its fifth term with more parties, with the vocation of being a useful party for the peoples of Europe and with the challenge of creating an annual forum that assembles all the trade unions, political, social, environmental, progressive and emergent forces ready to break with neoliberalism, austerity and capitalism.

The 5th Congress of the EL ended this Sunday with the ratification of eight parties and movements, as members, observers or partners. A dozen of motions were also approved, like those demanding the demilitarization of Europe, denouncing the increasingly authoritarian regime of Erdogan, demanding the release of political prisoners, and defending the self-determination process of the Sahara.

The delegates also approved the list of the members of the new Executive Board and entrusted the responsibility of the Treasury to Brigitte Berthouzoz, of the Workers Party of Switzerland.

The whole new leadership and the new parties close the meeting on stage with the words of three of its vice-presidents, who centred on a message of solidarity. “Only together and with solidarity spirit we will be capable of advancing. Only working together we will be able to build a better world”, Margarita Mileva said.

The outgoing president, Pierre Laurent, now vice president and with responsibilities in the new forum, also expressed his desire on hope to be above everything else and underlined that the message of this Congress should be of assembling and the unity.

Maite Mola, after congratulating Pierre Laurent and the outgoing Portuguese Vice-President, Marisa Matias, for the work both have done during these past 6 years, recalled that we face difficult times and "we have to show that we are the Party of the European Left".

In a press conference after the closing of the Congress, the new president, Gregor Gysi, committed to visit all the EL and express his optimism and desire to achieve “a party more passionate and alive in all European questions”.